Against the Nets, Antetokounmpo poured in 29 points to help Milwaukee snap a seven game skid and, with a third quarter three, became the sixth youngest player ever to reach 21,000 regular season points.

At 30 years old, just days shy of his 31st birthday, he joined a group headed by James, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant and Wilt Chamberlain as the only players to get there that quickly.​

Postgame, the two time MVP made it clear he views the milestone as a checkpoint rather than a destination. Antetokounmpo said he believes he can climb to No. 1 on the scoring list within four to five years, envisioning himself at 35 and sitting atop a leaderboard currently ruled by James.​

The Mathematical Mountain Ahead

James’s tally sits at roughly 42,250 points and is still climbing as the Lakers star continues to score at an All Star level in his 23rd season.

Antetokounmpo, with 21,002 points, sits 42nd all time and trails the record by more than 21,000 points, essentially needing to replicate his entire career output just to catch up.​

Projection models suggest the four to five year window is almost impossible. Even maintaining better than 30 points per game, Giannis would have to pair peak scoring with extreme durability for close to a decade, a standard only James himself has met across modern NBA history.​

Legacy, Confidence and Realistic Path

Whether or not he actually reels in James, Antetokounmpo’s chase adds a compelling layer to his already decorated résumé.

He is averaging 30.9 points through the first weeks of this season, pushing for a fourth straight year above the 30 point mark while remaining a perennial MVP and Defensive Player of the Year candidate.​

The more realistic path has Giannis climbing gradually into the top 10 or even top five if he stays healthy into his late 30s, a scenario analysts view as challenging but attainable.

For now, his willingness to speak the record into existence says as much about his competitive edge as it does about the size of the mountain he is trying to climb toward LeBron’s historic standard.